Combined letter-port cover and nam e- plate



(No Model.)

. J. J. BISEL; COMBINED LETTER PORT COVER AND NAME PLATE. No. 511,722. Patented Dec. 26, 1893.

UNITED STATES ATENT FFTCEQ JOSEPH J. BISEL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 511,722, dated December 26, 1893.

Application filed April 5, 1893. Serial No. 469,142- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known thatI, JOSEPH J. BISEL, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Letter-Port Cover and Name-Plate, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to an improved combined letter-port cover and name-plate, the mportant characteristics of which are that 1t enables the letter-carrier to deliver mail matter in the easiest and most convenient manner; 1t can be made comparatively narrow, and yet admit of the slot or port being made large enough to receive newspapers and the like; it effectually prevents snow, rain, and cold air from beating through the port; it is very simple in construction, and it can be manufactured and supplied to the public at a low cost.

The invention will first be described in connect10n with the accompanying drawings, and then pointed out in the claims.

Figure l of the drawings is a front elevation of a door having my combined letter-port cover and name-plate applied to the cross-rail. Fig. 2 ma vertical sectional view taken on the line to, Fig. 1, the dotted lines showing the name-plate swung to open the port. Fig. 3 1s abroken horizontal sectional view taken on the l ne 3 y, Fig 1, showing the manner of securing the portcasing to the door from the inner slde. Fig. at is a front view and Fig. 5 a rear view of my combined letter-port cover and name-plate.

Referring to the drawings, A is a door, through which is cut a slot at, preferably large enough to permitthe passage therethrough of such mail matter as newspapers and the like said slot being hereinafter termed a port.

B is the port-casing, made of any suitable metal, and provided on its rear side with a serles of thimbles 1,screw-threaded interiorly. These thimbles are designed to fit in recesses 2 cut in the front side of the door, and inserted from the rear side of the door, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, whereby the casing is secured in place entirely from the rear. This fastening feature however, is old, and nothing relating thereto is claimed herein. The inner edge of the casing is rabbeted, as at 4:, on the rear side, the rabbet extending entirely across the top and part way down the ends. It will be seen in the drawings that casing B comprises only the top and ends, the lower part being left open, for a purpose hereinafter stated. In each end of the casing, at the termination of the rabbet, in the rear side, is formed a groove 5, the purpose of which will be stated farther on.

O is the name-plate, which also serves to close the port a in the door. For convenience in description this plate, although made in one piece, will be referred to as comprising an upper and a lower part. The rear side of this plate is flat; but the front side is in two planes, by reason of the lower part a being made thicker than the u p per part c, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The upper part is slightly longer than the lower part, so as to fit closely in the rabbet in .casing B, while the lower part fits between the ends of the casing and is flush with their outer surface. On each end of the plate, at the lower edge of part c, which is about midwidth of the plate, is formed a short trunnion 6, these being designed to rest wholly within the grooves 5 in the casing, which serve as bearings, so that when the casing is secured to, the door the plate may be swung on them. i

It will be observed that the plate-trunnions and their bearings are in front of the lower side of the port a, which permits the upper part of the plate to be swung inward through the port by simply pressing a letter, newspaper, or other like article of mail matter against it, and when the plate is thus turned nearly the whole area of the port is made available for the passage therethrough of such articles. When the mail matter has been delivered the plate will resume its normal position by gravity.

By leaving the port-casing B open at the bottom and adapting the lower part of the name-plate to fill the space I am enabled to use a gravitat-ing plate perfectly fiat on its rear side, so that its lower part may lie close against the door, and thus cause its upper part to bear snugly against the rabbeted edge of the port-casing and effectually close the port. Furthermore, by this construction I am ensential feature when it is desired to out a' port large enough for all practical purposes through thenarrow cross-rail often put in vestibule doors.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with a letter-port casing open at its lower side, of a name-plate journaled midwidth in said casing, that part of the plate below the journals being heavier than the part above them and arranged to close the open space in the casing when the plate is in its normal position.

2. The combination, with a letter-port casing open at its lower side, of a name-plate journaled mi'dwidth in said casing and having a flat rear surface, that part of the plate below the journals being-heavier than the part above them and arranged to close the open space in the casing when the plate is in its normal position.

3. The combination, with a letter-port casing open at its lower side, and having its inner edge rabbeted on the rear side along the top and part way down the ends, of a nameplate flat on its rear side, and whose upper portion fits in the rabbet flush with the rear side of the casing, while its lower portion fits between the ends and is flush with the outer surface of the casing, said plate being journaled midwidth in the rear-side of the casing.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH J. BISEL.

' Witnesses:

' W HUNTER MYERS,

G. W. BALLOOH. 

